They stayed in the forest for a while after they were finished. Damon sat with his back against the very same tree they’d made use of for their exertions, with Ria sitting in between his legs, leaned into him. He gently traced the matridai on her face, admiring the neatness of the linework.
“It took me over a week to finish,” said Ria. “Tradition says the matridai are to be completed in one session but… it is harder when tattooing oneself, using only a looking glass.”
“They’re perfect.” He kissed her cheek and brushed back a few strands of hair that had come loose from her bun. He was pretty sure he’d pulled them loose, now that he thought about it.
It was so strange to consider how furious they’d been with one another mere minutes before, but it also wasn’t as though the essence of the argument had completely faded from existence. Damon knew she would still need to settle things with Malon, but at the very least, he felt as though he’d tested the trust Ria felt for him, her husband in name and fact, and found that trust to be adequate.
“Come back with me,” he said. “Please. Stay at the tower, if only for tonight.”
“Damon…” Ria started to shake her head.
He playfully set his hands on either side of her cheeks and tried to hold her face in place, to which she responded by playfully biting one of his knuckles.
“I have a plan,” he said. “I haven’t just rediscovered Myr and her power. She remembered something from long ago, when she was still an ice elemental and privy to greater knowledge. It may be a way to… bring a calm to our little slice of the world.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Explain.”
“I will. But since I’m going to need your help, along with aesta’s, I’d prefer to have you both present for the conversation.”
Ria sighed and scowled at the pine needles. “This may not end well. You are playing with fire by trying to force civility between her and I after all that has happened.”
“Are you saying that you can’t keep your own temper in check?” he asked.
“My temper has nothing to do with it!” snapped Ria. “What happens if Lascivious appears from the sky and decides to begin giving her commands again? Do you expect events would play out any differently from last time?”
He’d been doing his best to avoid thinking about that. Lascivious had seemed, well, a lot like Seffi, Malon’s shy little ward, the last time Damon had encountered her. He was placing his hopes in her personality having stabilized enough for her to listen to reason if she did make an appearance.
“She calls Malon aesta, you know,” he said. “And aesta calls her… seta. She did help rescue Seffi, long before we ever knew about her. After Avarice killed her family, and after… everything else happened. I think aesta helped her regain herself, served as her mentor. Her family, even, or the closest thing to it that she could have.”
“Irrelevant,” said Ria. “All that ultimately matters is how she will feel about this plan of yours, whatever it entails. Will she allow us to make such a change to the world as you are describing, vague as you have been?”
“I suppose we’ll see,” he said, with emphasis. “Please. I need you by my side for this, Ria.”
She sighed and leaned her head back on his shoulder for a moment before slowly nodding. “For you, I will make the effort to listen. But if the sorceress tries to lecture me, or demands an apology, or…”
“She won’t,” said Damon. “She has her own burden of guilt to bear. Trust me.”
He squeezed his arms around her and kissed her, and they both walked back to the tower together.
***
The common room was silent as Damon led Ria through the door. He saw the way her eyes darted around, though it was clear she was trying to suppress her reaction. He smiled and leaned a little closer.
“It’s an exact replica, as I said.” He gestured to his room. “There are still only two beds in the room you and Vel shared, so we might have to have a chat about sleeping arrangements, with Lilian here.”
She gave him a knowing smile, but it lingered for only an instant. Malon was in the kitchen, attention occupied by dinner preparations, and she seemed to be making an effort to limit her presence. Vel and Lilian were sitting at the common room table, looking bored.
“I’m glad you came back, Ria,” said Vel. “I was really hoping we’d have time to catch up properly. How have you been?”
“Fine,” she replied, a bit too quickly.
“Fine?”
“What does it matter?” she snapped. “Would it change anything if I said I had been doing badly?”
Vel folded her arms. “Are you really going to be like this? You know, the mood was fairly pleasant before you strode into the clearing and started picking fights.”
Ria narrowed her eyes and raised a hand as though to jab a finger in Vel’s direction. Damon elbowed her in the ribs and gave her a look. She let out a sigh and took a seat at the table, with Damon filling the last chair.
“I did not mean to be dismissive of your concern, Velanor,” said Ria. “There are just… many things occurring in the world which are hard to explain to those who have not experienced them.”
“Will you try, at least?” asked Damon. “We’ll all need to be doing some explaining tonight if we’re to be on the same page.”
Ria sighed and shot a quick glance toward Malon in the kitchen, as though still doubting that the fight between them was truly settled. She loosened the top tie of her tunic and slid a hand underneath to rub her shoulder, nearly flashing Damon in the process, though he didn’t exactly mind and had seen her breasts within the hour.
“I have split my time between the near region of the Malagantyan and far to the south,” she said. “There is a place once known as Gorgaia , or The Great Gorge, in your language. We now call it Gorgaia-Bellis … The Great Gorge Press. Revenants have filled it to a point where they crawl over one another like worms in a bucket. Part of my duty to my people is to travel there during storm time, approach as close as I can, and… cull the press with my tempesting.”
“Like worms in a bucket, you say?” said Damon. “What were we having for dinner again?”
Lilian burst out laughing. Vel glared at him and kicked him under the table.
“Well, that is why I was reluctant to speak of it,” said Ria. “It is as unpleasant of a task as it sounds, I can assure you of that.”
“You’re keeping your people safe by doing it, though,” said Damon. “Along with what’s left of the Merinians in Veridan’s Curve. It’s a noble undertaking.”
“It is, in part, why I hesitate to commit to this vague notion of departing on a quest, young Damon,” said Ria. “What would happen to the Gorgaia-Bellis in my absence? It could well spill over, revenants climbing over the top of the gorge in the thousands, overrunning the havens I have worked so hard to protect.”
“Hey!” Myr’s whisper caught Damon by surprise, and he jumped a little in his chair. “Tell her that if we manage to do what I have in mind, it will weaken the revenants to the point of them being unable to do more than crawl, if not destroying them outright.”
“Myr says that my plan would either destroy the revenants or render them harmless,” said Damon.
“And just what is your plan, solas?” called Malon.
He looked around the table, steepled his fingers, and considered his words.